Sunday, May 5, 2013

2013 USASA SBX Racing Year-end Review #2

The
next competition was in our home region, the Appalachian Series, with Wisp
Resort in Maryland hosting the 2 re-scheduled races (postponed earlier in
the season due to bad conditions/weather).
Besides steady improvement with technical riding, our other main goal for the
event was to qualify for Nationals. If
each athlete could win gold in both races they’d get an automatic bid for
Nationals by being the Series Champion.

Gray Was a Big Raffle Winner Too

Even
though the weather had improved greatly and there was plenty of snow on the
slopes, our schedule was still hectic and it felt like we had no time to
practice before the races. The good news
was that after the Wisp event we’d have a more reasonable amount of time to
prepare for our final Regional races at Holiday Valley and then gear up for a
strong run at Nationals.

The
course at Wisp was pretty straightforward and fast and, with cold temps all day
long, held up really well. Ale and Gray
ended up racing with each other and against different age groups, as they were
the only ones in their respective age divisions. Kind of a bummer that there wasn’t any direct competition for them, but they did each take Gold and wrapped up the Series
Championship bid for Nationals. The
other competitors in the video were from a slightly older age group (Men’s
Jams, 18 – 22) and a younger age group (Junior Women, 16 – 17). So with 4 in the gate for each heat, it still
felt like a real race and Ale and Gray were able to practice withoutsidecompetition, which doesn’t happen too often.

2 More Golds for the Mountain Athletes

Coach
Jb had to contend with only one competitor this time (compared to 3 in NY), but
the races were fast and the Series Championship was on the line. After the day was done, Jb ended up winning
every heat and, like Ale and Gray, also qualified for Nationals.

Coach Jb On Course to a Nationals Bid

There was a little surprise waiting for
everyone when we returned to the home base at Seven Springs – a celebration
pizza party with Village Pizza, quite possibly the best pizza on the
planet. Everyone was stoked from the event;
excited to have their Nationals bid on the way and had no trouble jamming some
pizza after a long day of racing.